Zac Blakely is the main character in Mako: Island of Secrets. He was born a northern merman to a powerful mermaid named Nerissa, as well as his sister Mimmi. After living most of his life on land, Zac discovered his powers and true form after unintentionally falling into the moon pool on a full moon and forming a strong connection to Mako Island.

Contents

Season 1

In the beginning, Zac is the typical, perhaps just above average teenage boy, growing up on the Gold Coast. He's good looking, popular at school, he has a long term girlfriend, parents who let him do what he likes, is sporty, gets good grades, and everyone knows him well. His seemingly perfect life is shattered when he discovers that whenever he comes in contact with water, he grows a merman tail.

Cam, his best friend, is the first person he tells. Cam quickly becomes fascinated with Zac's abilities, but as Zac's ego grows and he starts to view himself as better than everyone else, Cam's interest and motivation to support his friend turns to intense jealousy. This is soon accompanied by intense resentment when the negative aspects of being a merman begin to take their toll on Zac. As it becomes harder for Zac to keep his secret, it becomes harder for Cam to help him, and Zac begins taking his frustration out on him.

When things hit rock bottom with Cam Lyla, Sirena, and Nixie learn of Zac's powers and Zac finds a new support network. While trying to find answers on how he became a merman, Zac learns the existence of a powerful artifact called the Trident and comes to believe he is destined to possess it. As the Lyla, Nixie and, Sirena continue to offer their "support" it is Lyla that Zac feels most comfortable confiding in, causing problems with his girlfriend, Evie, who later breaks up with him. This all changes when Zac discovers that Lyla and the others have been mermaids the whole time and try to take the trident from him as he attempts to claim it. Feeling used and betrayed, Zac denounces the mermaids as his enemies, vowing to gain possession of the trident and reek vengeance on them. The battlelines are drawn. However, because of their shared secret, there are times where Zac has to begrudgingly work together with the mermaids to protect their secret.

Through the second half of season 1, Zac battles with Lyla, Nixie and Sirena for possession of the Trident. During this time, he displayed a great deal of resourcefulness such as in "The Trident Job" where he is able to outsmart the mermaids and gain possession of the trident. Because of this, and later the sheer power of the trident, Zac's confrontations with his newly declared nemeses have mostly ended in his victory. However, the mermaids finally succeed in getting the trident from Zac and Lyla is able to hide it in "Aquata Returns".

This defeat for Zac soon proves short-lived. Zac finds the trident where Lyla hid it and they fight for it underwater, resulting in Lyla being knocked unconscious. This turn of events shocks Zac and he realizes his mistake of trying to get the trident. Later learns it will destroy the moon pool forever if it is taken there during a full moon, so he locks it away in the chamber once again after helping Lyla recover. Their friendship restored, Lyla is again the one he confides in the most, but it never goes anywhere as Zac is too in love with Evie to return Lyla's feelings. Lyla and Zac continue as friends and she eventually accepts that their relationship must remain platonic

Following this, Zac decides to grant the girl's request to give up his powers since it hurts him to have to lie to Evie. At the end of series one, Evie learns Zac's secret and Cam betrays him by attempting to go to the Moon Pool on a full moon with the trident. With his help, the mermaids are able to stop Cam and he breaks the trident. In the aftermath of it all, being in the moon pool under a full moon did not remove Zac's powers. Despite his broken friendship with Cam - Zac is relieved he finally can have the mermaids as friends without trouble from Evie, who accepts the girls when she realizes how untrusting she was of them.

Season 2

In season 2, things seem to be going perfect for Zac at first. Despite losing a friend in Cam, he is now completely happy being a merman since he no longer has to lie to his girlfriend Evie. Soon however, things in his life get complicated upon the arrival of the seventh full moon since Zac became a merman and two new mermaids Ondina and Mimmi. This duo of mermaids intend to finish what Sirena began and they don't plan on giving Zac a choice in the matter. There are also more complications with Zac's growing connection to Mako. This includes his discovery of an ancient Merman Chamber which also attracts Erik's interest. Zac awakens it by moving his hand over a rock with glowing symbols, which include a moonrise, an island, a full moon, the moon pool, and a trident. It becomes apparent that Zac is the only one capable of controlling the chamber and he becomes determined to find out it's purpose and why he is connected to it.

Also in this season, Evie becomes a mermaid. At first Zac is eager to help her, even take her out swimming, but the mystery of the chamber and the power growing inside, draws him away from her in the most important situations. Evie becomes anxious as to why he is suddenly seeing visions and having to leave in important situation, but it is revealed that it is not the island at all, but his connection to Mimmi, who is actually his long lost sister. Zac learns that he was actually born a merman and that he is the son of Nerissa, the most powerful mermaid to ever exist. It turns out that when Zac fell into the moon pool, it broke a spell he was under cast by Nerissa that prevented him from getting a tail whenever he touched water so instead of transforming, he returned to normal. This revelation is all just to much for Zac and he begins pushing those close to him away as a result, overwhelmed by the fact that his whole life has been a lie. Eventually, he learns to accept who he really is after Mimmi reminds him that he has a family who cares for him. After his parents tell him the story of how they found him on the beach as a baby and adopted him, they assure him that they always considered him their real son. Zac then realizes that whether he is a land boy or a merman, he was meant to be with the Blakely's and that he is surrounded by people who care about him and that is all he really needs to know to be happy. He then reconciles with all the people he cares about, including Cam and accepts Mimmi as his sister. Following this, Zac and his newfound sister are shown to develop a very strong bond throughout the second half of season 2. Both of them are shown to be extremely caring and protective of each other. At some point off screen, Zac and Mimmi take a photograph together which Zac treasures.

Throughout the second half of season 2, Zac's curiosity of the chamber grows and he continues to seek it's purpose, while at the same time wanting to make certain that Mimmi and all mermaids are safe. He later finds out from Rita that he and Mimmi are descendants of the merman that built the chamber and that he refused to activate it after falling in love with a mermaid. This causes Zac to have second thoughts about trying to activate the chamber. He and the others would eventually discover however, that typing in the code is only the first step to starting the chamber and that the trident must be placed within it. Since Zac already destroyed it, all seems well at first until Erik deduces that the stone that acted as the heart of its power is what starts the chamber instead of the trident by itself. After learning from Sirena that she hid the stone at Rita's following the trident's destruction, he accidentally activates it again when he touches it due to his stronger connection to Mako. He resolves to hide it, but this proves harder then expected when the stone urges him to use it and Erik finds out he has it. A bitter confrontation erupts between the two mermen as Erik insists that the chamber has more purpose then destroying mermaids and demands custody of the stone. Zac refuses to hand it over and Erik nearly gets into a brawl with him over until they are interrupted by Evie's dad. Realizing the stone its not safe with him, Zac decides to entrust it to Cam. Although Evie is worried about what Cam will do with it, Zac has complete faith in his best friend and Cam proves his trustworthiness when he hides the stone and turns on Erik despite promising him a merman tail if he agrees to help him get the stone. Unfortunately, Erik still able to get the stone after successfully deducing that is at Rita's. Zac and Mimmi then confront him but the stone drains Zac of his magic allowing him to start the chamber. Now powerless, Zac seemingly loses all hope of stopping Erik, but he musters courage after he is encouraged by Cam, Evie and Mimmi. Zac follows Erik to the chamber and attempts to stop him from activating it. However, Zac is no match for Erik without his magic and he is soon shaken off and tossed aside. When Erik activates the chamber and it begins to kill the mermaids, Zac bravely attempts the grab the stone and deactivate it. He is successful, but seemingly at the cost of his own life. Zac's sacrifice proves unbearable for the mermaids and they are all overcome with grief, especially Evie and Mimmi who cry strongly over his apparent death. However, Mimmi is able to use the stone to restore Zac's life and his powers, to everyone's great relief. Zac's heroic actions earn him Veridia's trust and praise and he is made an honorary member of the pod along with Evie. He then greets the pod with the rest of the gang, happy that they no longer fear him and have accepted him as a friend.

Season 3

In season 3, Zac's life remains the same from where it left off. He continues his life on the Gold Coast now fully accepting of his true origins in the sea. He also still frequently spends time with his girlfriend Evie and best friend Cam, who he has completely made amends with. In addition, he is also frequently visited by his mermaid friends (excluding Sirena who has went on a vacation with her sister), including his sister Mimmi who he is seen playfully poking during one of said visits. Although he does not take part in mermaid only activities such as the full moon ceremonies, he is no longer feared by the Mako pod and considered an equal member. Some of the younger mermaids in the pod that would become Ondina's students even express a keen interest in finding out what he is like. Later, Zac would be introduced to a new mermaid from China named Weilan, who is friendly to him despite the previous history between mermaids and mermen. Zac and the mermaids now peaceful life would turn upside down one night as he and Cam prepare to have a card night while the mermaids leaves for the full moon ceremony. As they are about to play, Zac is suddenly startled when he has a vision warning him that Mimmi is face to face with a massive water dragon. After rushing to help her and the others, Zac and the mermaids learn from Weilan that the dragon has the ability to take away a mermaids powers with it's cold fire breath. The merpeople group then dedicate most of the season trying to figure out a way to defeat the dragon.

During the first half of season 3, Zac does his best to support Evie as she learns to master her moon ring and learn more about mermaid life. However, he cannot help but feel a little bit neglected because of this, something that he is only barely able keep out of her notice. His grades are shown to have dropped dramatically since he no longer gets to study with Evie like he used to. This causes Zac to find strong companionship in Weilan, who is having difficulty connecting with Ondina. With both of them having lived most of their lives on land despite their origins in the sea and having a mutual understanding of what it's like to be on Ondina's bad side, the two of them quickly become very good friends. They also become classmates when Weilan enrolls at his school. After hearing about Zac' struggles, Weilan happily offers to tutor him in place of Evie but the study sessions do not lock in. Things soon go awry when Weilan mentions a knowledge transference spell and Zac begs her to use it on him. The spell works later on, but also causes them to slowly swap bodies. With help from Ondina and Mimmi, the spell is reversed and both Zac and Weilan are restored to their normal selves.

Later, Zac has an idea of his own to defeat the water dragon after learning of Weilan's ability to use a powerful eastern spell called "Turn the Tide" which redirects any magic aimed at the spell caster back to its source. Confident that he can save the pod again like he did in the previous season, Zac believes that if he were to learn the spell, he could use it to redirect the dragon's cold fire breath without risk of losing his powers since he is a merman. After sharing this thought with Weilan, she decides that he has a point and agrees to try to teach him. Both of them also agree that no one else must know what they are doing, especially Mimmi and Evie, or they would surely try to stop him. The two of them head to a secluded part of Mako island to train. Although Zac soon memorizes the overall form of the spell, he has a great deal of trouble executing it. After many tries, Zac is finally able to master the spell and the triumphant duo share a celebratory hug. Evie notices this while working on a group project Zac was supposed to help with and she mistakenly assumes Zac is cheating on her. Zac is able to explain the misunderstanding assuring her that there is nothing going on between him and Weilan and they reconcile. However, he does not reveal his plan with Weilan.

When the next full moon comes, Zac and Weilan prepare to put their plan into action. Zac is instructed to lure the dragon to the moon pool and then try to redirect the dragon's cold fire once it appears on the east side of the island where the moon rises. While Weilan makes sure the pod stays of of the way, Zac makes a plan to keep Evie occupied by arranging a movie night at his place with Evie and enlist Cam to keep her occupied until he returns. Unfortunately, his plan is dealt a blow when Evie decides to join the pod in the fight against the dragon and she enlists Carly to perform the same task as Cam to prevent Zac from trying to stop her. As Zac prepares to face the dragon and Weilan wishes him luck, they are spotted by Evie. After Evie confronts Weilan, she figures out what Zac is about to do and races after him. As the dragon appears, Zac leads it to the moon pool where he is horrified to find Evie there too. Before he can send her off, the dragon appears to them. Although Zac is able to use "Turn the Tide" multiple times, the dragon is completely unfazed. As Evie attempts to help him, she is struck by the dragon's fire breath and loses her tail and powers in the process. Zac is then forced to retrieve Evie to prevent her from drowning, leaving himself vulnerable to the dragon. However, instead of finishing him off, the dragon merely sniffs Zac and then leaves. Afterwards, Zac feels greatly responsible for Evie's lost tail, but Evie herself does not blame him for they had both lied to each other. Later, Evie learns to accept returning to her role as a land girl and decides to resume her diving career, much to Zac's happiness.

During the second half of season 3, Zac and Mimmi's past begins to haunt them when Mimmi's moon ring starts activating on its own before showing her visions of a mermaid that Zac sees as well. This causes Zac to grow greatly concerned for Mimmi, especially when she states her belief that the mermaid they saw is their long lost mother: Nerissa. For some unknown reason, Zac is unable to see the visions of Nerissa in person in even though he is able to see them through Mimmi's eyes. This causes him to be skeptical to believe that their mother is really out there, much to Mimmi's frustration. This disagreement would go even further when Zac and the mermaids later attend a football game that Mimmi's boyfriend Chris is playing in. During the game, Mimmi's moon ring starts to glow again and she prepares to ditch the game to try to reach Nerissa and she urges Zac to come with her. Knowing Chris will be crushed if Mimmi leaves, Zac attempts to talk her out of it and insist that she needs to let Nerissa go. The conversation soon turns into an argument as Mimmi expresses jealousy over Zac having a family while claiming to not have anyone. Zac is slightly offended by this statement, and retorts by reminding her that she has him now, getting the feeling that this is no longer good enough for her. When Mimmi offers one last chance to come along, Zac remains firm in his decision and she leaves on her own disgusted by his lack of faith. After revealing what happened to the other mermaids, Weilan warns them that using a moon ring will summon the dragon. After seeing a vision of the dragon chasing Mimmi, Zac is able to pinpoint their location but he and the others are unable to rescue her. However, the dragon spares Mimmi and leaves after merely sniffing Mimmi the same way it previously did Zac. Zac then rushes to his sister's side, greatly relieved that she isn't hurt. Afterwards, Zac tends to Mimmi as she recovers from her encounter with the dragon and tearfully expresses her pain of missing their mother. Mimmi then decides with a heavy heart that Zac was right and that she needs to let go of trying to find Nerissa. In attempt to give themselves some closure, Zac and Mimmi hold a memorial service for Nerissa as they hold each other close all the while.

Close to the season climax, Zac and the mermaids find a potential solution to defeat the dragon. When the mermaids attend a book signing by a word famous diver and treasure hunter named Rikki Chadwick, they take notice of a Chinese dragon bracelet that has a connection to the legend of the Jao Long Dragon. Believing it can destroy the dragon, the mermaids ask for the bracelet. When Rikki refuses to give it to them, the girls enlist Zac's help to steal it and he is all too happy to help. Unfortunately, they are unable to get it and are forced to retreat when the police arrives. Later, after learning about Mimmi's breakup with Chris, Zac attempts to comfort her and is quickly able to cheer her up. Another vision of Nerissa then appears, but this time she speaks to them and Zac is able to see her too. At the same time, Weilan finds out that the Jao Long dragon was a actually a human under a spell who was set free when a mermaid used the dragon bracelet which she discloses to Zac and Mimmi. Now believing that Mimmi was right about their mother being alive, Zac and Mimmi conclude that their mother under the same kind of spell. The two of them have a meeting with Veridia begging her to cancel their plan to destroy the dragon and allow them to try to save her, but Veridia refuses unwilling to risk the safety of the pod. However, Weilan and Ondina are able to get the bracelet. As the group tries to decide who should use the bracelet, Zac is the first to volunteer but Rita informs him that only a mermaid can use it. He then offers full support to Mimmi when she takes it herself. As Zac and the mermaids prepare to face the dragon for the final time, he and Mimmi watch in horror as the dragon is struck by lighting from a powerful storm conjured by the mermaid council and Zac frantically urges Mimmi to use the bracelet. As the bracelet begins to take effect on the dragon, Zac excitedly realize that the dragon is indeed their mother as they can both feel her presence. When both the dragon and Mimmi suddenly disappear, a distraught Zac believes that they not only failed to save Nerissa, but that he has lost his beloved sister in the process as he and and an equally devastated Ondina desperately cry out to her. However, his horror immediately turns to joy when Mimmi emerges from the water along with a newly restored Nerissa. A stunned Zac then meets his birth mother for the first time since she left him on the beach as a baby. Zac and Nerissa immediately engage in a loving embrace as he and Mimmi are finally reunited with her.

At Rita's grotto, Nerissa explains that it was Zac and Mimmi's ever increasing bond as siblings that allowed her to awake and slowly begin to regain her sense of self. She then promises never to leave them again as the newly reunited family share a group hug. Later, Zac goes on to tell the story of his and Mimmi's reunion with their mother to Evie, Cam, Carly, and David. Although Zac is very happy to be back with his birth mother and loves her dearly, his adoptive parents do not lose their place in his heart and he still considers Lauren his mother just the same he does Nerissa. Now finding himself with two mothers, Zac concludes that the time has come to tell his adoptive parents both about Nerissa and who he really is believing that they deserve to know the truth since they took him in and raised him while Nerissa was unable to. He is given full support to his decision from Evie as Zac proceeds to nuzzle his beloved girlfriend, content at having reunited with his long lost family in the sea as well as having his family and friends on land, taking great pride in the fact that he is truly a part of both worlds.

Discovering His Powers

Zac was born a merman, but Nerissa cast a spell on him to give him permanent legs and send him to an adoptive family on land. He grew up unknowing about his origins as a merman. He always believed that Rob Blakely and Mrs Blakely were his real parents. But when he was 16 years old, Zac was camping on Mako Island with his friend Cam. He walked off to take care of business and saw a light coming from a Cave. He walked into the cave, curious to see what was in it. He found a wall with a trident symbol on it and touched it. The symbol lit up and the floor beneath his feet disappeared and he fell into the Moon Pool. Afterwards, he transformed to his original form every time he touched water. He still thought he was born a human, and that the transformation was by accident, that he wasn't even destined to unlock the merman chamber. But it was revealed in "Reunion" that his true mother was Nerissa, the most powerful Northern mermaid. This makes Zac a Northern merman and a descendant of royalty.

Personality

Good looking and charming, Zac starts out as an all-round nice guy. He's popular and sporty, always off on one adventure or another with best mate Cam. He and Cam have a healthy and long-running rivalry based firmly in good-hearted mate ship.

The rivalry fuels both boys in everything they do and they banter constantly. But truth be told, they both win as often as they lose. They are essentially equals. That is until the Moon Pool endows Zac with amazing powers and the ability to transform into a merman.

When he first gets a tail, Zac experiences a range of different emotions. At first he is plain stunned, then intrigued, then bummed after all, his new status as half-fish undeniably makes him a bit of a freak. In addition, he knows he can't get wet in front of people without transforming- and that would be a disaster. But he soon finds out that the perks of his powers outweigh the negatives, and starts to embrace his new destiny. This causes a rift in his friendship with Cam - who is used to being Zac's equal, and is jealous of his new abilities.

Zac's world would turn upside down even more when he discovers that he was never really a human to begin with and has been a merman his whole life as well as being the son of the legendary mermaid Nerissa and Mimmi's long lost brother. Feeling that his whole life has been a lie, Zac falls into a deep depression and pushes everyone close to him away, especially Mimmi, who he refuses to accept as his sister. Eventually Mimmi is able to convince him that no matter what he is, he has people that care about him, particularly his parents. He is further established this after talking with his parents and they insist that they always considered him their real son. Deciding Mimmi is right, Zac learns to fully embrace his destiny and accept Mimmi, who he would quickly learn to care deeply about and vice versa. These events also drove him to become more respectful and grateful for his family and friends.

As the series progresses, Zac proves to not only be a very kind outgoing and friendly person, but also very brave and willing to risk his own life for the well being the people he cares such as when he saves the mermaids from being destroyed by the merman chamber and attempts to destroy a water dragon all on his own. This bravery and selflessness are what ultimately lead to him being accepted by the rest of the pod.

Zac has also displayed great resourcefulness and intelligence, even being described as "too clever" by Rita. He has come up with multiple plans outside the box to accomplish whatever goal he has tried to achieve and almost always succeeds in his pursuits. He is also very skilled with his powers as he was able to master them entirely on his own without any help and on one occasion was able to master a trick used by the mermaids after witnessing it only once. He was also able to master the eastern spell Turn the Tide after only one day of lessons when it took years of training for the mermaids in the eastern pod.

Zac possesses the ability to transform into a merman ten seconds after physical contact of water. He turns back into a human several minutes after climbing out of the the water and once his body is completely dry, he turns back into a human along with the clothes he was wearing before he transformed. As a merman, Zac has the ability to swim at super speed of 600km/h, hold his breath for more than fifteen minutes, and possibly dive at a depth lower than any ordinary human being.

After his first Full Moon in Zac's Return to Mako he is now able to become invisible like the girls. In The Siren Zac turns invisible so Mrs. Santos doesn't see him in her office. In Truce and Nowhere To Hide he uses this power so he doesn't caught in the cafe and the warehouse. He also uses the power of invisibility in Supersized to help Mimmi get her moon ring back.

Trivia

Zac's mother was Nerissa, a powerful northern mermaid, which makes him a northern merman regardless of his upbringing in Australia.

In season 1, Zac was introduced as a human who transformed into a merman by accident. But season 2 reveals he was born and had always been one—but his mother Nerissa had cast a spell on him to make him human. The spell was eventually broken by the Moon Pool, as the Full Moon above Mako Island seemed to possess him one night he camped there and lead him to fall into the Moon Pool where his powers restored.

Due to being a northern merman, he would probably be immune to snow rash, but due to being raised in a Southern part of the equator, it remains to be seen.

Because of Nerissa being his mother, his powers might match up to Mimmi's and because of his bond with his sister, he might tap more into his natural magical energy.

There is a possibility that 'Zac' is not Zac's real name, depending on whether Nerissa named him something different from what the Blakelys called him after they adopted him. However, when Nerissa finally returned, she refers to Zac as such suggesting she either gave him that name or did not name him when he was a baby and simply went along with the name the Blakely's gave him.

It is possible that Nerissa left Zac right after he was born. However, he may have been left when he was, at an estimated age of 1-2 years.

The identity of Zac's biological father is unknown.

He is a direct descendant of the merman that built the merman chamber.

Zac's temporary death is the first time a main character from either H2O or Mako Mermaids to die onscreen.

Zac has had a crush a on Evie since he was 12 years old.

It has been confirmed in a Twitter message, that Zac is the younger one between him and Mimmi, and they are not twins.